Stan Schneider Speaks to the CWRTDC About "Gen. Alexander Webb" - 6/13/2017 by CWRTDC

Stanley Schneider speaks to the Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia about "General Alexander S. Webb" on June 13, 2017, at the Fort McNair Officers' Club in Washington D.C.

Questions and answers follow the presentation. The images used during his presentation are available at https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jBvqLBXRXOwuhvYMvp8GmSINo3h-T_3V
More information about the speaker is available at cwrtdc-audio.blogspot.com/p/schneider-audio.html

ABOUT THE TOPIC:
Scion of an illustrious family, Webb was a hero (arguably the hero) of the battle of Gettysburg, chronicler of the Civil War in its aftermath and an honored participant in post war veterans’ societies. Webb lived a gilded life in late 19th century New York and became President of the City College of New York, a post he held for 33 years.

Alexander Webb, the youngest of six children, graduated from West Point in 1855. At the war’s outbreak, he was appointed assistant to the artillery commander of the Army of the Potomac and served in a series of staff positions during the first two years of the war. He was credited with sighting the Union guns at the Battle of Malvern Hill and can be seen bare headed in the famous photo of Lincoln visiting McClellan in the aftermath of the Battle of Antietam.

At Chancellorsville in May 1863, Webb performed courageous service as Chief of Staff to General Meade’s Fifth Corps, guiding a brigade to a critical position to defend against a Confederate assault. As a reward, he was promoted to Brigadier General, the orders coming through just three days before the Battle of Gettysburg. He was appointed to command the Philadelphia Brigade, a mostly Irish outfit recruited from the dockyards, and an incongruous position for the patrician New Yorker. Together Webb and the Philadelphia Brigade achieved immortality at Gettysburg. Posted at the “angle," in the wall on Cemetery Ridge and adjacent to the “copse of trees” which was the target of Pickett’s Charge on the last day of the battle, they stood firm and repelled the Confederate assault on their front, killing Confederate General Armistead after his unit momentarily achieved a break-through.

Webb regularly took part in reunions and dedications and authored books and articles about Gettysburg, the Peninsula campaign, and the Wilderness.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Stanley R. (Stan) Schneider is a past President of the Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia. He is a graduate of the City College of New York (CCNY) and its ROTC program. Commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he eventually became a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserves and is an Honor Graduate of the Army’s Command and General Staff College.

Mr. Schneider's civilian career began with stints at the National Academy of Science and Naval Intelligence, followed by 36 years of service with NOAA and NASA working in positions related to management of weather and earth observing satellites. He retired from NASA in 2010 and is currently a consultant to aerospace companies.

Mr. Schneider has had a lifelong interest in the Civil War. As a freshman at CCNY, he was inducted into Webb Patrol, an ROTC fraternity named after the College’s 2nd President and Civil War hero. As a senior, he was elected Commanding Officer of Webb Patrol. His senior thesis at Command and General Staff College was on “Lee’s Lieutenants” and its relevance to the (then) modern Army.

For many years, Mr. Schneider was a member of the Army’s 310th TAACOM with headquarters at Fort Belvoir’s John Singleton Mosby U.S. Army Reserve Center. Mr. Schneider is currently Vice President of the 310th Alumni Association known as the “Mosby Rangers."